Mobile-Controlled Minions Drive DOOH Campaign for ‘Despicable Me 2′

The digital out-of-home marketing campaign for “Despicable Me 2″ has put Minions to work on digital signage screens across Europe.

To promote the theatrical release of the new animated movie, Universal Pictures has kicked off a mobile-controlled and interactive DOOH campaign running on Clear Channel International’s network of shopping mall screens in five European countries —
Finland, France, Norway, Spain and the U.K.

The mall digital signage screens invite shoppers to take control and personalize the on-screen creative featuring the by-now-familiar little yellow Minions from the movie via mobile phones, according to app provider Grand Visual.

The interactive campaign was conceived by Clear Channel, planned and coordinated by TED@MediaCom and powered by an app designed and built by Grand Visual. The creative technology solution links input from SMS or Web apps to prompt more than 30 animated sequences that make up the interactive experience.

The execution features Gru’s mischievous Minions tapping their feet impatiently with the call to action to text a command to see them dance, wrestle, play, build or boogie. Users can text any command along with their name to a shortcode, and seconds later the Minions will act out the instruction accordingly with an on-screen thanks to the named participant.

A campaign management dashboard powers the real-time interaction and personalizes the copy and playout in a mall-specific geo-targeted response. Users also will be rewarded with a text linking them to a copy of their personalized Minion film which they can share socially online.

“From the outset we wanted to challenge convention by taking a traditional medium and turning it into an engagement hotspot for kids, parents and the whole public to have fun with the Minions,” said Neil Wirasinha, vice president of international advertising at Universal Pictures International, in the announcement.

The campaign is running on 259 digital screens in 51 shopping malls across the five countries. The interactive experience is supported by additional static and digital ads in close proximity to participating malls. The DOOH campaign is fully integrated with Universal Pictures’ social and online channels, and an online version of the game replicates the experience at http://www.commandtheminions.com/UK/, according to Grand Visual.

Mariama Jelman, the international associate director at TED@MediaCom, Universal’s international media agency, said, “Using engaging digital out-of-home experiences is a great way to reach families and get them interacting with the film’s main characters. Working in close collaboration with Clear Channel and Grand Visual has a created a truly innovative campaign that will create a real buzz in the shopping malls reaching over 10 million shoppers with a clever memorable campaign that will be further amplified online.”

David Roddick, Clear Channel International’s sales director, said that a creative digital out-of-home execution of this sort shows the medium’s potential to engage, stimulate and interact with an audience via their mobile devices. “It captures the personality of the Minions and brings the movie’s characters to life for cinema-goers of all ages, communicating a compelling message about how much fun the ‘Despicable Me’ franchise is.”